


Pearl Earrings

by yuletide_archivist



Category: Discworld - Terry Pratchett
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-12-19
Updated: 2006-12-19
Packaged: 2018-01-25 08:16:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,626
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1640927
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yuletide_archivist/pseuds/yuletide_archivist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      Thanks to Xylo and Lynn for betaing! Any and all mistakes are mine.<p>Written for Dizmo</p>
    </blockquote>





	Pearl Earrings

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to Xylo and Lynn for betaing! Any and all mistakes are mine.
> 
> Written for Dizmo

 

 

"And when did you notice that the earrings were missing?" Carrot asked.

Angua studied the woman. She was wringing her hands with a pained look. It was understandable, because that morning Mrs Gaiter had woken up only to find that she had been robbed.

"Right after I found out about the window. I must thank you for coming here so soon," Mrs Gaiter said. Her eyes had an honest look of relief and she put her hand briefly on Carrot's arm. Carrot looked sympathetic. She spared Angua a glance and a small smile; Angua didn't react.

"Are you sure they went missing last night?" Carrot continued.

"Yes. I'm sure I looked at them yesterday - before noon. I polish them every week, you see, and I like to take them out of the box and look at them anyway because they're too expensive to wear that often." She gave a wan smile of a person talking about something they no longer have.

"You didn't notice that anything else was taken?" Carrot enquired.

Angua let her eyes wander. Mr Gaiter wasn't present, as he had a business to run, but the servants were there, as well as the governess. The maid was fair and shapely, and she was looking at Mrs Gaiter intently. Her eyes were big and her face was solemn, and she stood very still. The butler was beside her, his expression schooled - that, in addition to his posture, made it clear that he'd had some education - but something humorous flickered in his eyes, and he looked much more relaxed than the maid. His hair was dark, and his features were unexceptional. Angua had to spend a minute to memorize his looks.

"Did I understand correctly that the earrings were kept in the same room in which the window was forced open?" Carrot asked.

"Yes," Mrs Gaiter said. "I kept them in a small locked box. It's ruined now," she added. "The lock is broken."

Angua caught the governess's eye as soon as she looked in her direction. The governess had odd-looking hair - white with a black streak. Angua wondered if that was some kind of a trend. She looked calm.

Carrot was writing things down dutifully. Angua was going to suggest that Mrs Gaiter show them the dressing room the earrings had been taken from when she noticed something out of the corner of her eye and looked up. Behind the railing of the stairwell a small child was hiding - definitely spying on the conversation. Mrs Gaiter seemed to realize that something was out of the ordinary and turned to look.

"Oh, for heavens' sake, Twyla!" she said.

"I'll go take her back to the nursery," the governess said. Mrs. Gaiter nodded.

"Ith that man going to catch the thief?" the girl asked in a clear voice as the governess climbed towards her.

"'That man' is a Watch officer, Twyla," the governess said sternly. "And we are not going to be under his feet while he's trying to do his job."

"But I want to see!" the girl objected.

"You have seen plenty already," the governess answered and took her hand. The child followed her, but not quietly.

"I want to see how they catch the thief that broke in!"

Angua closed her ears to the reply and concentrated on what Carrot was saying.

"We would like to have a look around," Carrot told Mrs Gaiter, unfazed, his face wearing the benevolent smile children usually brought to it. Mrs Gaiter seemed favourably impressed.

"Yes, of course."

"And we would like to ask some questions of everyone who was here at the time of the earrings' disappearance," Carrot continued, and Mrs Gaiter nodded.

***

The butler's name was Henry Adkins. Angua thought he was noticeably relaxed for someone who was talking to Watch officers.

"Do you know where the earrings are kept, Mr Adkins?" Carrot asked him.

The butler looked at them both genially. "I'd assume they're kept in the bedroom upstairs," he said. "I have no acquaintance with them personally."

"Do you know who could have taken them?" Angua asked.

Henry Adkins raised his eyebrows non-committally. "Probably it was some thief who happened to go past the house and saw the opportunity. Don't thieves do that all the time?"

***

The maid was called Greer Ritchin. She was perched on her seat, back slightly bent, and her eyes had difficulty focussing on one place. Angua thought that perhaps a butler saw more people than a maid; Greer Ritchin seemed unused to meeting people.

"Did you at any time notice anything unusual or suspicious?" Carrot was asking.

The maid's eyes flickered right. "No, I don't think so," she said. Her lips were full and parted, but Carrot barely noticed, carefully writing notes. Admittedly, looking was why Angua was there.

"What about during the night? Did you hear anything, Ms Ritchin?"

The corners of her mouth tightened, and she clasped her hands in front of her.

"No."

***

The Gaiters' household included a cook, but she wasn't present, and Mrs Gaiter didn't think she'd know anything anyway, since she didn't stay the night and generally kept to the kitchen. That left the governess, Susan Sto Helit.

"We are trying to establish a timeframe in which the earrings could have been stolen," Carrot explained to her. "We also want to know if anyone saw or heard anything, and that's why we need to ask you some questions. I'm sorry about the inconvenience."

The governess nodded. She was sitting up straight, her hair in a prim bun, and she looked at Carrot and his notebook and occasionally glanced at Angua.

"Where were you between yesterday afternoon and this morning?"

"I was with the children for the afternoon," the governess said. "I had the night off, so I went out for a couple of hours, and I came back at about nine. Then I was in my room until morning."

Carrot wrote it down. At least, he wrote _something_ down. "And when you say you were 'out,' Ms Sto Helit, that would mean...?" Carrot glanced up at the governess. Her gaze never wavered.

"I went for a drink, that's all."

"Yes, I understand that this feels intrusive," Carrot said, "and I apologize. However, I must ask. Where exactly did you go?"

The governess was silent for a moment; she kept looking at Carrot. Then she said:

"I went to a place called Biers."

Carrot and Angua's eyes met briefly.

***

The witness accounts proved to be basically non-existent, but Cheery arrived by the end of the interviews and would hopefully be able to shed some more light on the case. Mrs Gaiter showed them the dressing room where the earrings had been, in a small box on top of a cupboard.

"I should have kept the box out of sight," Mrs Gaiter said. "It must have been like a moth to the flame, keeping it where anyone could see!"

Considering that the room was on the first floor, well above ground level, and the box was a plain wooden one, Angua didn't think that it was very fair to accuse Mrs Gaiter of bringing this on herself, but she didn't say anything.

Cheery was examining the cupboard and the floor studiously.

"This is going to take some time," Carrot said to Mrs Gaiter apologetically. "You are free to go and perhaps have a cup of tea if you wish."

"That's very nice of you, but I think I'll stay," Mrs Gaiter replied. Angua didn't blame her. Three Watch officers in one's dressing room would have been a bit much for anyone.

Cheery was crouching on the floor and scraping something off it into a small paper bag. Carrot took a step towards the window, but Cheery lifted her arm immediately.

"May I ask that no one approach the window just yet," she said importantly. "I'm going to go over the whole area first."

Carrot stepped back and waited with Angua. Cheery was very thorough. Angua hoped that it at least comforted Mrs Gaiter.

Mrs Gaiter had closed the window; Cheery climbed on a chair to open it and look at the frame. There were crude marks of a knife close to the latch.

"Those marks were what I found this morning," Mrs Gaiter said unhelpfully.

"I think I'm going to have to take this back to the Watch House to take a closer look," Cheery announced. She climbed down and went for her bag.

"What?" Mrs Gaiter looked aghast. "You do realize that you can't take my window frame anywhere!"

"Oh, don't worry, ma'am," Cheery said happily. She was holding an impressive looking saw. "We're just taking the piece around the marks!"

Mrs Gaiter looked like Cheery had lost her mind.

"Well, that will ruin the whole frame!"

"But don't you want the thief to be found?" Cheery stopped to look at Mrs Gaiter inquiringly. Then she continued as if the matter had already been settled. "There's no telling what we can determine from this frame," she told Angua and Carrot as she measured where she was going to cut the wood. "It could have been done with a special knife that only one store sells, or contain pollen that's only found in one part of the city!"

Angua felt doubtful about that - the knives in Ankh-Morpork were rarely special - but the time didn't seem right to say that out loud. Mrs Gaiter stared dolefully at the sawdust that was floating through the air.

***

They talked about the case later in Commander Vimes' office. Cheery had the piece of the window frame with her. "I couldn't see anything in these marks that would tell us about the knife," she said, "but I did find something: the pattern makes it clear that that they were done from the inside and _after_ the window was opened."

She displayed the piece of wood and indicated the carvings; apparently the conclusions were obvious to her, but Angua couldn't make out anything out of the ordinary. She believed that Cheery knew her business though. The findings made her lift her eyebrows.

"Good work," Vimes said.

"So the thief didn't come from outside the house but has access from the inside," Carrot said thoughtfully.

"Makes for fewer suspects," Angua commented.

"Who lives there again?" Vimes asked.

Carrot consulted his notebook.

"Mr and Mrs Gaiter and their two children," he started the list.

"Both under the age of seven," Angua said when Vimes looked at her questioningly.

"They have a cook who lives elsewhere. Two live-in servants: a butler and a maid. And lastly, a governess."

Angua thought about them - how relaxed the butler had been, how shy the maid, and the governess's confession about going to Biers. She couldn't really picture any of them selling the earrings onwards, but that didn't prove anything. It was well within possibilities. "Any of them could have done it," she said.

"Or Mrs Gaiter hid the earrings herself," Vimes said. He rubbed his forehead, looking weary.

"We'll look into that, sir," Carrot promised.

"Isn't it more likely that the servants would be in need of money?" Cheery asked.

"More likely, yes," Angua acknowledged. "But you never know. It could also have been the governess, Susan Sto Helit. She acted strangely when we talked to her. Reluctant to let us know her whereabouts."

"Isn't she the Duchess of Sto Helit?" Vimes asked.

Angua was surprised.

"We'll have to check that, sir," she said. "Perhaps her household doesn't have any money and she's resorting to stealing? In addition to working, I mean."

"Bring them all in for questioning," Vimes said. "I'll have Detritus and Visit look around for the earrings."

***

The house was quiet when Mrs Gaiter received Angua and Carrot.

"We haven't found the earrings yet, but we have made some progress," Carrot said. Mrs Gaiter brightened.

"What we have learned," Angua said carefully, "is that whoever took the earrings probably didn't break through that window."

"What?" Mrs Gaiter looked at Carrot, then back at Angua.

"We think they may live in this house," Angua clarified.

The realization dawned and Mrs Gaiter actually sputtered. "That little wench!" she said. Then she caught herself and blushed.

"Ma'am?" Carrot said. "Do you suspect someone?"

"Well, it never even crossed my mind that it would be her," Mrs Gaiter said, "but as a matter of a fact my maid is exactly the kind of person who'd do something like this!"

"Thank you, we'll look into that," Carrot said.

"As it is," Angua cut in, "we're going to have to search the house."

"Please do."

Mrs Gaiter looked definitely ruffled, but she also seemed grimly pleased as she showed them to the servants' rooms.

Angua didn't find anything in Adkins' room. The only conclusions she could draw were that he wasn't very wealthy, didn't have much privacy, and kept his room extraordinarily clean. Judging by the look on Carrot's face, he hadn't found anything in Greer Ritchin's room either.

"The earrings weren't there, I suppose," Mrs Gaiter said. She'd waited in the hall.

"No, they weren't," Carrot said. "I think upstairs would be a good place to continue."

"Continue?" Mrs Gaiter asked.

"We need to make a thorough search," Angua explained. Mrs Gaiter wasn't moving: she eyed them suspiciously.

"May I remind you that the 'thorough search' meant ruining my window the last time?"

"Ma'am, we made significant progress because of that window frame," Angua said. It was truly surprising how often the victim complicated the investigations. She hoped Mrs Gaiter could yet be persuaded.

"There's no knowing if the thief could in fact have hidden the earrings inside the house," Carrot said.

"Oh."

Mrs Gaiter looked undecided for a moment, but then she motioned toward the stairs and turned to lead the way. Angua smiled at Carrot. She decided to leave the questions about Mrs Gaiter's finances until they were done with the house.

"We would like to go see your cook - you can give us the name and the address later. And we will ask Ms Ritchin and Mr Adkins more questions," Angua said as they climbed the stairs. "Could you tell them to show up at Pseudopolis Yard some time soon? Is Ms Sto Helit present at the moment?"

Mrs Gaiter looked back incredulously.

"Susan? What do you want from her?"

"We also need to question her some more," Angua said patiently.

"You can't possibly believe she could be behind this!" Mrs Gaiter stopped at the top of the stairs and lowered her voice. "She's the Duchess of Sto Helit!"

Understanding, but firm, Angua thought. That was how you had to be with these people. And she was definitely leaving the question of finances until later.

***

"So, Ms. Sto Helit, how do you like being the governess for the Gaiters?"

What made Carrot an excellent interrogator was that he was thorough and patient. Nobby leaned back in his chair and let Carrot run the show.

The governess regarded them with thoughtful eyes. "I've enjoyed being there. I like the work, I like the children, and the Gaiters are fine people."

Carrot inclined his head. "How would you describe your relationship?"

"With the Gaiters?" the governess clarified. Carrot nodded. "A professional one, I'd say. We've negotiated very good terms for my work, and I get along with them well."

She appeared to be very calm and reasonable when she was answering Carrot's questions. Nobby thought it was definitely suspicious: if hers was a criminal mind, he'd imagine she was quite efficient.

"Could you elaborate on the terms of your employment?" Carrot asked her.

The governess sighed. "I get a few nights off, I get paid well, I get a job and they get a governess; we've made a good deal and we're both happy - I am, and they are. I have no reason to be disgruntled. I hold no grudges. I didn't take the earrings, which is one question you haven't yet asked."

Going on the offensive seemed to be her way of defending herself. Nobby made a mental note.

"Do you know who did?" Carrot asked, without missing a beat.

"I have no idea! It could have been anyone."

Nobby reckoned her act was all very well but that it was time he stepped in with some wiliness. "We think it was someone who lives in the house," he said. The governess turned to look at him. He thought she didn't seem much like a Duchess at all.

"Well, then, maybe it was the cook or, or Henry Adkins, the butler. Have you talked to him?"

"Not yet, but we will," Carrot said.

"I don't think I can help you any more than this," the governess said.

That at least wasn't true. "You wouldn't guess how well people can help even when they don't think they can," Nobby said.

The governess stared at him for a moment. Then she lifted her hands in defeat. "Fine. Ask me. What do you want to know?"

Carrot obliged at once:

"How would you describe the other relationships at the Gaiters'? How do people get along with one another?"

The governess appeared to think. "Mrs Gaiter doesn't seem to like Greer Ritchin, the maid. Otherwise, I don't think there's a problem."

"Do you think it's probable that Ms Ritchin would be behind this?" Carrot asked.

The governess looked annoyed. "The fact that Mrs Gaiter doesn't like her doesn't make her a thief," she replied.

"You don't think the maid could have done it?" Nobby asked.

"Well, she could have, but someone else could have just as well," the governess said. "Perhaps the butler did it?"

Nobby felt strangely uneasy about that option.

"I don't know," he said, "that sounds very... _obvious_."

" _That_ sounds obvious to you? You don't think it's obvious to blame the maid whom the mistress hates because she's so beautiful?"

The governess glared at Nobby and crossed her arms. Carrot called the interrogation finished and thanked Ms Sto Helit for her troubles.

***

"She's surprisingly wicked for such a nice lady," Nobby said.

"Her business is an Abomination," Constable Visit said rigidly.

Nobby took another sheet of paper from the pile of documents which had been taken from Mrs Gaiter's house for further investigation. He held it in front of him and turned his head sideways to get a better look.

"What are you doing?" Angua appeared beside the table and helped herself to one of the papers.

"Jus' going through Mrs Gaiter's stuff," Nobby answered.

"These are seating plans," Angua said and turned the paper to read the names that were written sideways. "Does she really give a lot of banquets?"

"She's practicin'," Nobby said. "We found some very ambitious plans for being the president of the Suede Shoe Club."

"What's that? And what do you mean, ambitious?"

Constable Visit sniffed.

"Well, when someone makes plans like she's going to war like this, I'd say that it's the fanciest club in all Ankh-Morpork," Nobby said.

"Her means are elaborately scheming in a way that does not in any sense fulfill the meaning of leading a quiet and devoted life," Constable Visit said.

Angua narrowed her eyes.

"Would they include using a pair of pearl earrings by any chance?" she asked.

"No, just spreading rumours about people and givin' speeches that are made to knock the current president off her perch," Nobby said.

Angua sighed.

"I guess we've got nothing then," she said and put the papers down. "She may be scheming, but she doesn't seem like she would commit a fraud. Not that I ever thought so. She really seemed distraught about losing the earrings."

Nobby scratched his hair.

"We'll just have to follow another lead then, won't we?"

***

Greer Ritchin didn't look like she was enjoying herself. Her shoulders were slumped and she looked mostly down, although she glanced at Fred and Nobby from time to time with wide eyes, her lashes fluttering. While Nobby introduced them and started the interrogation, Fred noticed uneasily that Ms Ritchin also had the sort of figure that constantly drew your gaze below eye-level. He was determined not to let that show.

"So, how do you like being at the Gaiters'?" he asked kindly.

Ms Ritchin nodded, hands clasped on her lap. "It's good."

"You like it there?"

She opened her mouth, hesitated, then:

"Yes."

There was a pause; when no one said anything she offered, "They pay me well and I like my job."

"That's good to hear," Fred said. "Now, what about your family? Do you have one?"

Now Ms Ritchin smiled. It took more effort to suppress it, but she managed that, as well. "I have a little sister and my parents," she told them.

"How are they doing?" Fred asked.

"They're well, thank you."

Nobby thought the interrogation felt more like small talk and decided to step in.

"Has it been rough for you? Is your family poor?"

"We manage."

Nobby reckoned he saw Ms Ritchin stiffen and felt triumphant: he'd hit a nerve.

"You haven't been in need of money?" he asked.

"No. I give them my pay and we're doing fine."

"Eh? Didn't happen to take those earrings to a pawn shop?"

Ms Ritchin had a determined set to her chin.

"No. I'm not a thief."

"Well now," Fred said, "since that's settled, who do you think stole those earrings? Do you think it was the butler?"

Ms Ritchin blinked.

"I don't think so," she said. "Aren't you supposed to find that out?"

"Yes, or course," Fred said. "This is just how we do these things. Inquiries."

***

Henry Adkins, the butler, looked downright hurt when Angua suggested that he could have stolen the earrings. Apparently he thought he was very charming, and when Angua asked about his financial situation he reacted surprisingly similarly to his mistress.

"My pay is more than enough for me," he said stiffly.

"What about your family, Mr Adkins?" Carrot asked.

"I have no one. I've been alone since I was a child; that was why I came to Ankh-Morpork."

"Really? You look like you're doing quite well," Angua said.

"I've had enough problems for a lifetime. But right now I'm doing very well." Mr Adkins straightened his cuffs.

"It must have felt great to achieve this lifestyle," Angua said. "Do you have any expensive hobbies?"

"No. You mean gambling?" he checked. "No."

"You have excellent clothes," Angua said, deciding to appeal to his vanity. "You look like you could go really far. Are you ambitious, Mr Adkins?"

Henry Adkins leaned over the table. "Listen," he said seriously. "I was poor and without a living. Now I'm not poor anymore and I make a decent living. You think I'd endanger that for a few bucks? I wouldn't."

***

"I think we've ruled out Mr and Mrs Gaiter," Angua said. "Constable Visit had questioned the cook but no luck there either." That was all she could say: they'd ruled out three people, but they hadn't found out who _had_ done it - there were no clues and no one had cracked in the interrogations.

Commander Vimes was sitting behind a desk and squinting at something that looked like Nobby's report. Angua assumed that he wasn't really trying to read it.

"What do you think about the others?" he asked.

Angua looked at Nobby and Fred. They looked much more confident than she felt.

"It could have been that Duchess if you ask me," Nobby said. "She acted strange. Very suspicious."

"I'd say it wasn't her," Carrot said.

"That's exactly what she'd want you to think," Nobby said. "You gotta be clever with them."

"Do you know who did it, then?" Angua asked.

"I'm not sure," Nobby admitted.

"We've got nothing conclusive," Carrot said.

Vimes had given up on the papers and looked up.

"The earrings haven't turned up anywhere, so finding the offender is our only chance. If it wasn't the victim and you don't think it was the governess, what have we got? A maid and a butler? Tell me about them."

"The butler seemed like a good-humoured fellow," Angua answered. "He was very relaxed until I asked if he'd had money trouble, and then he was almost insulted to be suspected of stealing."

"Perhaps he did have money trouble then," Vimes said.

Angua shrugged.

"Could be, sir, but he seemed well-off. I couldn't detect a grudge either, so it seemed like he had no motive."

"What about the maid?" Vimes asked.

"Could have done it," Nobby said. "I think she's poor. P'rhaps she's learnt that when push comes to shove you just gotta do what it takes, even if it means stealing."

"In my opinion she's the kind of person who'd never do such a thing," Fred argued. "I think her family has taught her that some things are wrong, no matter what the circumstances."

"So she has a poor family then?" Vimes asked. "Sounds like a motive to me."

"Lifting food from the market is one thing," Fred said, "but pearl earrings from the house you work in? That's a whole different issue."

"Not to a hard-boiled person it's not," Nobby said.

"But she denied having done it?" Vimes said. Nobby nodded. "Could she have done it anyway?"

Vimes looked at all of them.

"She may have." Carrot's expression was thoughtful.

"It's possible," Angua conceded.

"I was there when we asked her," Nobby said. "She's got steel inside her, I wouldn't be surprised."

"She seemed like a nice girl to me," Fred said. "She looked like her family meant a lot to her. I heard that Adkins doesn't even have a family, so who knows what he thinks is right."

"I think that family means just a stronger motive," Angua commented. "She could have given the money to her family."

Vimes was looking from one officer to another. "So what is she like? Haven't you all met her?"

Angua spread her hands. "Just briefly."

"Apparently you haven't got a strong enough case then. And the earrings are nowhere to be found. I think that's all the resources we're going to give this one."

A silence followed Vimes' words. Admitting defeat wasn't a nice feeling. Angua thought Fred looked even more uneasy than she felt, though, looking at Vimes with worried eyes.

"That doesn't feel right, sir," he said.

"It isn't right but it's how it is." Vimes' tone was grim.

Vimes got up and the case was closed.

***

Henry Adkins' acquaintances were more difficult to find than Greer Ritchin's family. Nobby and Fred walked around, asked around, and bought more than a couple of drinks. (Some for themselves, too.) It proved not to be fruitless when they found Henry Adkins' haunt. People there liked him and talked about him freely. Greer Ritchin's family was easy to locate, but to get those people to talk appeared to be almost impossible.

"Very suspicious crowd," Nobby said when they were walking back.

"I didn't feel welcome there," Fred agreed.

"Almost as if they don't trust the Watch," Nobby mused.

"A curious experience," Fred said.

***

"You did what?" Vimes asked.

"We happened to be in the neighbourhood," Nobby said.

"It was our night off," Fred said.

"We were just spending the evening, having a few drinks," Nobby said.

"So you accidentally bumped into people who happened to know Henry Adkins?" Vimes asked incredulously.

"Stranger things have happened, sir," Nobby said. Innocence oozed from him. Vimes turned to Fred: he was an easier target.

"And then you accidentally happened to find your way into Greer Ritchin's _home_?" Vimes said. Fred had the decency to blush.

"Ah, but that was deliberate, sir," Nobby chimed in. Vimes glared at him.

"After we'd talked about Henry Adkins with those folks," Nobby carried on, "and we both felt a little uncomfy about leaving that case like that, you know, not finding the culprit, right, we decided, why not go and see if the Ritchin family is hospitable? And they really weren't."

"So we asked a couple of questions there, too," Fred finished.

Vimes sighed and sat down on his desk. Nobby was grinning.

"What did you find out?" Vimes asked.

"Well," Nobby said, "they didn't really want to say anything, so we didn't _hear_ as much, but all we really had to do was look around, and there was plenty to _see_ , if you get my drift?"

Vimes didn't, so he consulted Fred instead.

"We both thought it was evident," Fred said, "that there were new investments in the house. Like they'd just got a lot of money from somewhere, sir."

Vimes sighed again. Nobby's grin had, if possible, widened.

"Bring her in," Vimes said. "Tomorrow. And good work."

Fred and Nobby left: a lot of nodding and poking the other with an elbow was involved from Nobby's part.

***

Greer Ritchin looked very out of place in the interrogation room. She had an apron and a carefully knotted bonnet, and she kept looking around her as if something was about to come from the corner and eat her. Her eyes were wide and slightly worried. Angua could inspect her all she wanted: Ms Ritchin never looked her way.

Vimes came in after a few minutes. He went straight to her.

"Greer Ritchin? I'm Samuel Vimes."

Ms Ritchin cast her eyes down under Vimes' shrewd scrutiny. She curtsied easily and all in all gave the impression that she knew her place and nothing in the world would make her get above it.

Vimes sat to the table and nodded at Angua. He opened a notebook, mostly for show, Angua thought.

"Do you understand why you're here?" Vimes asked. "We suspect you of stealing Mrs Gaiter's pearl earrings."

"Yes, I understand." The eyes went down, but the chin lifted up. It looked to Angua like the question had hurt Ms Ritchin's pride.

"Did you do it?"

Ms Ritchin raised her head and looked Vimes straight in the eye. "No," she glanced at Angua, "I didn't."

"You didn't go upstairs and take the earrings from the box they were in?" Vimes pressed on.

"No."

She looked stubborn now, her eyes sharp and her chin tense. If she was lying, Angua had to take her hat off to her.

Vimes changed his tactics. His posture was visibly different, although Angua couldn't say what exactly he'd done.

"Ms Ritchin, someone told us that Mrs Gaiter isn't very happy to have you as a maid," Vimes said softly. "I understand if she gives you a hard time."

Ms Ritchin flushed; she turned her head as if she wanted to get away from them. Angua's heart jumped.

"Please. I didn't come here to hear such talk."

As soon as she heard the words Angua realized that Vimes hadn't said that it would be understandable if the maid had stolen from a harsh mistress: the implication had been clear to her, but perhaps Ms Ritchin hadn't regarded it at all. She appeared to be merely embarrassed about the subject.

Vimes waited. Ms Ritchin seemed to calm down somewhat. She looked up at Vimes and Angua saw that her eyes were moist; her gaze flickered down, then up at Vimes again, and her voice was almost a whisper, pleading:

"I didn't do it."

Angua hadn't even known Vimes was able to look so compassionate.

"I'd like to believe you," he said. "But we found out that your family has bought a lot of new things lately - just as if they had got a lot of money from you. Can you tell us about that?"

The corners of Ms Ritchin's mouth went downwards. "Because I've started to work," she said. "I give them my pay. Things are better now that I have a job."

***

Angua and Vimes stayed in the interrogation room after Ms Ritchin had been escorted away.

"What do you think?" Vimes asked.

Angua shrugged. "I don't know. It could be... but perhaps not."

"And we can't prove it either way," Vimes said.

It was difficult to know why people said what they said. Angua had been certain that Vimes had caught Ms Ritchin when she blushed, but it may have been that her discomfort didn't stem from guilt.

"It seems that you were right about Mrs Gaiter not liking her," Vimes observed.

"Well, Susan Sto Helit was the one who said so."

"Still. She is beautiful." Angua didn't know what to say to that. "But was she lying?"

Angua glanced at him. "She is very good at it if she was," she said slowly. "Has steel inside her, like Nobby said. But I'm not sure." She thought about the maid's eyes as Carrot had questioned her, how she kept looking away. Her whole demeanour had struck Angua as shy, not guilty, and when she'd told Vimes she didn't take the earrings she'd looked serious.

Vimes shook his head. "When you all had different opinions of her I wanted to talk to her myself, but it made no difference."

"Interrogation isn't the best way to get to know someone, sir," Angua said gently.

He looked at her distractedly before collecting the notebook and getting up. Angua followed him with her eyes: this was police work to her, and she knew you couldn't solve all the cases, but Vimes did want to solve them all. It made them distinctly different as Watch officers - her ability to shake things off and Vimes's inability to do the same. Angua honestly didn't know which one was better.

The hall was noisy compared to the interrogation room. Lance-constables were changing shifts, Cheery swept by holding something and looking excited, and Carrot was booking a crime at the duty officer's desk - only Fred and Nobby had retreated to a quiet corner to have a chat. Angua closed the door of the interrogation room behind her and went to see what Cheery had found.

 


End file.
